Wednesday, September 5, 2007

My favorite part of the article is where Lou refers to Mexico as "the Great Imperialist." Interesting description, especially when it is contrasted with the United States. Where did Texas, California, Arizona, and New Mexico come from again?

There's also the wonderful section where Dobbs argues that the US spends too much already helping Mexico. Given that any number of US stores rely on Mexican sweatshops and maquiladoras for the assembly of their products, it's hardly surprising that we have a trade deficit with Mexico. Furthermore, many of the products we sell down there, like corn, are so heavily subsidized by Washington that their resulting cheap price utterly skews the comparison. Needless to say, neither of these phenomena which generate the trade deficit are in any way beneficial to the Mexican people.

Dobbs also says plenty of racist nonsense, like " Even by Mexico's standards, Calderon's blatant hypocrisy is breathtaking." I was unaware that Mexicans are known for their hypocrisy.

Overall, I think the most notable fact about the article is the air of crisis Dobbs maintains. "Felipe Calderon...demanded the United States surrender its sovereignty, abandon the rule of law and accede to Mexico's inherent supremacy." You can read the full text of Calderon's speech here. I assure you it contains nothing of the sort. Dobb's hysteria is a cover for the empty core of his argument. There is no immigration crisis. As Reason, a right-wing libertarian publication, points out, even if you accept the racist logic of assimilation that the debate is framed in, Latino immigrants learn to speak English quite quickly, have lower crime rates, and don't exhibit any problems that weren't associated with Italians, Jews, or the Irish when they started arriving. My favorite quote is "It's hard to tell U.S.-born kids to assimilate while you're treating their parents like outlaws." In short, the hysterical tone is necessary for Dobbs to sell his case that immigrants are somewhere, somehow, causing this country harm. It's a malicious lie, and it kills.